REPLIES TO A QUESTION ON THE MEDICATION USAGE OF A LARGE POPULATION OF DRIVERS SUBJECTED TO EVIDENTIAL BREATH ANALYSIS WERE EXAMINED, AND RELATED TO AGE, SEX AND BAC OF THE DRIVER, AND TO WHETHER OR NOT HE WAS BREATH ANALYSED AFTER A CRASH. IN AN INITIAL ANALYSIS MEDICATIONS WERE CLASSIFIED INTO 13 MAJOR GROUPS (INCLUDING A DRUG NEGATIVE, OR CONTROL, GROUP) AND A LOG-LINEAR ANALYSIS CARRIED OUT ON THE CROSS-TABULATION OF AGE (FIVE CATEGORIES) BY BAC (FIVE CATEGORIES) BY DRUG (13 CATEGORIES) BY CRASH/NO CRASH. (ANALYSIS WAS RESTRICTED TO MALES, SINCE THE NUMBER OF FEMALES WAS VERY SMALL). A REDUCED MODEL WAS OBTAINED, AND THE RATIO OF THE ODDS OF A CRASH IN EACH DRUG GROUP TO THE ODDS OF A CRASH IN THE APPROPRIATE DRUG NEGATIVE GROUP COMPUTED. IN A SECOND STAGE OF ANALYSIS, THE ANALGESIC AND CNS DEPRESSANT CATEGORIES WERE EXPANDED TO INDIVIDUAL AGENTS, AND ODDS RATIOS AGAIN COMPUTED. A NUMBER OF INDIVIDUAL DRUG GROUPS WERE ASSOCIATED WITH AN ELEVATED CRASH RISK. THESE INCLUDED CNS DEPRESSANTS (DIAZEPAM, OXAZEPAM, ANTIDEPRESSANTS), ANALGESICS (D-PROPOXYPHENE) AND DRUGS FOR THE TREATMENT OF DIABETES. IN GENERAL, EFFECTS WERE MOST MARKED AT LOW BAC'S.(Author/publisher).
Abstract